Thanks for your comments guys, I appreciate your thoughts.
I hear what you're saying about $1000 - I know it's nowhere near enough, (and I wish I had more! LOL. Don't we all!
) But I'm looking at it as a figure I'm willing to risk and to lose... for the price of my continuing trading education... I'm under no illusions about the very real fact that I may lose it all very quickly - given my experience level and the fact that most 'traders' fail... I guess it's almost a near certainty... But, I don't think I'll ever learn unless I really get my feet wet and start trading real money.
This is the plan I have:
I'm signing up for a 6 month subscription with a professional trader. I've done some research and he seems to be well regarded, and he offers alerts and news and training. He's not too expensive, and offers a money back guarantee, so it looks legit. I'm signing up primarily for the education he offers, but also, I can check out his recommendations and see for myself. I like the idea of a mentor, and learning from people with experience. Hopefully he can answer all of my newb questions too. he he.
I'm going to sign up for an account that allows me to demo trade CFDs. This will be my practice account. I'm thinking of Interactive Brokers - not that I know much about them, but they came recommended... and it's only a demo, so...
(Does anyone know anyting about Interactive Brokers? Just out of curiosity.)
Then when I'm ready, I'm going to open an account with $1000. I haven't found one yet that I want to go with... I want DMA broker, not MM... but so far the one's I've looked at Commsec, IG Markets, or Etrade. On paper they look good, but slightly prohibitive, due to their high brokerage... I will keep looking until I find one that suits me.
Ah, there's so much to learn, but it's so interesting and dare I say 'fun'? If nothing else, I have picked for myself an expensive hobby...